Monday, May 16, 2011

VIENNA, May 13 (C-FAM) - Not even the seasoned culture war professional was prepared for the hectoring she received at an official European Union human rights meeting. Neither was she prepared for the cheering among homosexual activists for violent behavior against Christians.

Dr. Gudrun Kugler runs a Vienna-based human rights group called the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe, which monitors and reports on what some call “Christianophobia.” Professor Joseph Weiler of New York University School of Law coined the term after Rocco Buttiglione was rejected in 2004 for a high-ranking position in the European Commission for his Christian beliefs on homosexuality.

Discrimination against Christians for their beliefs is on the rise all over the world, including in what some consider to be tolerant Europe. A few months ago a Christian couple were told they could no longer act as foster parents because they held the Christian view of homosexuality. A state electrician in the United Kingdom recently faced dismissal for showing a crucifix on the dashboard of his company van. A crowd in Belgium cheered when an archbishop was attacked with cream pies.

Last year Kugler was accepted onto the Advisory Panel of the Fundamental Rights Agency’s Fundamental Rights Platform, a gathering of non-governmental organizations concerned with human rights. Her acceptance was not without controversy. Kugler is on record opposing homosexual adoption. She was investigated by an Agency staff member for three months to ensure her “opposition to adoption of children by gay couples is not a violation of fundamental rights.”

What Kugler knows is that much of the discrimination against Christians in Europe comes from the homosexual lobby and that in many sometimes official quarters freedom of religion is trumped by the homosexual agenda.

Last month Kugler presented her group’s Five-Year Report on Intolerance against Christians in Europe at the agency’s conference on civil society. In an account on MercatorNet.com Kugler said she, “was aware that my audience would not be favorable, as combating homophobia is always a main issue at these meetings.”

Kugler nevertheless suggested to the group that holding a “kiss-in” at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was not respectful of Christians. She said anti-Christian images at homosexual parades, including mock-crucifixions, was likewise not respectful.

Kugler suggested, “no one should go to prison for respectfully stating an opinion which does not advocate violence.” The human rights crowd shouted “No!” Someone responded, “People should go to prison for what they say if it is a negative comment against a vulnerable minority group…” Kugler said a staff member of the Fundamental Rights Agency nodded in agreement.

Kugler also reported to the group how a Berlin pharmacy was vandalized for refusing to sell the sometimes-abortifacient morning after pill. The pharmacist’s windows were smashed and his pharmacy wrecked. One participant shouted, “Quite right!”

Kugler wrote in MercatorNet that she “love(s) human rights, and I am glad they hold such a prominent place in today’s society. But they are vulnerable to fundamentalism and ideologies. As long as fundamental rights are used for some radical groups’ agenda, they will never be fully respected.”